Implants
What is a dental implant?
A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that we place into your jaw to hold a replacement tooth or bridge. Dental implants are an ideal option for people in good general oral health who have lost a tooth or teeth due to decay, gum disease, an injury or some other reason.
While high-tech in nature, dental implants are actually more tooth-saving than traditional bridgework, since implants do not rely on neighbouring teeth for support.
Dental implants are so natural-looking and feeling, you may forget you ever lost a tooth. You know that your confidence about your teeth affects how you feel about yourself, both personally and professionally. Perhaps you hide your smile because of spaces from missing teeth. Maybe your dentures don’t feel secure. Perhaps you have difficulty chewing. If you are missing one or more teeth and would like to smile, speak and eat again with comfort and confidence, there is good news. Dental implants are teeth that can look and feel just like your own! Under proper conditions with diligent patient maintenance, implants can last a lifetime.
What Dental Implants Can Do?
Replace one or more teeth without affecting adjacent teeth.
Support a bridge and eliminate the need for a removable partial denture.
Provide support for a denture, making it more secure and comfortable.
Advantages of Dental Implants Over Dentures or a Bridge
Every way you look at it, dental implants are a better solution to the problem of missing teeth.
Cosmetic: Dental implants look and feel more like your own teeth. Since dental implants integrate into the structure of your bone, they prevent the bone loss and gum recession that often accompany bridgework and dentures. No one will ever know that you have a replacement tooth.
Tooth-saving: Dental implants don’t sacrifice the quality of your adjacent teeth like a bridge does because neighbouring teeth are not altered to support the implant. More of your own teeth are left untouched, a significant long-term benefit to your oral health.
Confidence: Dental implants will allow you to once again speak and eat with comfort and confidence! They are secure and offer freedom from the irksome clicks and wobbles of dentures. They’ll allow you to say goodbye to worries about misplaced dentures and messy pastes and glues.
Reliable: The success rate of dental implants is highly predictable. They are considered an excellent option for tooth replacement.
Are You a Candidate for Dental Implants?
If you are in good general health you will typically be a suitable candidate for dental implants. The longer that your teeth have been missing the more likely that your bone has been lost to some degree however it is still possible to place implants with new advances in bone growth and implant placement.
What Is Treatment Like?
This procedure is a team effort between you and the dentist. Your dentist will consult with you to determine where and how your implant should be placed. Depending on your specific condition and the type of implant chosen, your dentist will create a treatment plan tailored to meet your needs. Normally a number of X-rays will be taken before and during treatment to confirm what will be done before you are given a treatment plan for your implants.
Replacing a single tooth:
If you are missing a single tooth, a single implant and a crown can replace it. A dental implant replaces both the lost natural tooth and its root.
Replacing Several Teeth:
If you are missing several teeth, dental implants can replace them. Dental implants will replace both your lost natural teeth and some of the roots. You are better off getting as many implants as possible to replace your missing teeth. If you do too large a bridge on too few implants the implants may be overloaded and fail. We would typically advise one implant per missing tooth unless the forces from chewing are very low.
Replacing All of Your Teeth:
If you are missing all of your teeth, an implant-supported full bridge or full denture can replace them. Dental implants will replace both your lost natural teeth and some of the roots.